New Encinitas is the inland part of the city, east of the low coastal ridge that separates it from Old Encinitas.[1] It is mostly post-war and late-20th-century suburban development along El Camino Real, including neighbourhoods such as Village Park. It holds most of the city's large shopping centres and much of its medical and professional office space.
History
The valley along El Camino Real is where the 1769 Portolá expedition saw the oak groves that gave Encinitas its name. A Kumeyaay village, probably called Hakutl, stood in what is now New Encinitas.[1] In 1842 the area became part of Rancho Las Encinitas, granted to Andrés Ybarra.[1] For much of the 20th century the inland mesas were farmland and flower fields, including growing grounds of the Ecke family's poinsettia business, which moved to Encinitas in 1923.[2] Suburban development replaced most of the fields in the decades before New Encinitas, including Village Park, joined the other communities in incorporating as a city in 1986.[1]
El Camino Real corridor
El Camino Real is New Encinitas's commercial spine. Shopping centres line the road between Encinitas Boulevard and Leucadia Boulevard, and nearby office buildings hold many of the city's dentists, dermatologists, orthodontists, veterinarians and therapists. This wiki's directory reflects that: more than twenty listed businesses have El Camino Real addresses, including practices at 285, 317 and 477 N El Camino Real.[3] Garden View Court, Saxony Road and Santa Fe Drive are other office clusters.
Parks and gardens
The San Diego Botanic Garden, on Quail Gardens Drive between New and Old Encinitas, covers 37 acres. It shows more than 5,000 plant species and varieties across 15 world-region gardens and 12 demonstration gardens, and it has the largest public bamboo collection in North America. It was the private estate of Ruth Baird Larabee until 1957, opened as Quail Botanic Gardens in 1970 and was renamed in 2009.[4] The San Dieguito Heritage Museum, also on Quail Gardens Drive, hosts the Lima Bean Faire each September and a Deep Pit BBQ in May.[1]
Schools
Several Encinitas Union elementary schools serve New Encinitas, among them El Camino Creek, Flora Vista, Mission Estancia, Ocean Knoll and Park Dale Lane.[5] Oak Crest Middle School opened in 1957, and San Dieguito High School Academy, the district's flagship, is about a mile from the coast.[6] See schools.
Housing
Housing in New Encinitas is mostly planned subdivisions of single-family homes, with townhomes, condominiums and apartment complexes near El Camino Real. It is generally newer than housing near the coast and somewhat less expensive than ocean-view homes in Leucadia and Cardiff, though still well above county medians. See housing.
Getting around
New Encinitas is car-oriented. Interstate 5 interchanges at Encinitas Boulevard and Leucadia Boulevard put most of the area within a few minutes of the freeway, and BREEZE buses run along El Camino Real.[7][8] Encinitas Boulevard climbs east into Olivenhain and on to Rancho Santa Fe.[1]
Village Park
Village Park is one of the planned neighbourhoods that made up New Encinitas when the city incorporated in 1986.[1] Its homes, greenbelts and small shopping centre are typical of late-20th-century planned communities in North County, and offices at 1991 Village Park Way house several businesses in this wiki's directory.[3]
The area is a short drive from both Interstate 5 and El Camino Real.
Common questions
- What is the difference between Old and New Encinitas?
- Old Encinitas is the historic beach downtown on Coast Highway 101. New Encinitas is the newer inland suburban area along El Camino Real, east of the coastal ridge.
- Where is the San Diego Botanic Garden?
- On Quail Gardens Drive in Encinitas, between the El Camino Real corridor and the coast.
See also
Notes and sources
- Encinitas, California. Wikipedia.
- Poinsettia. Wikipedia.
- Google Maps business profiles (ratings, review counts, addresses, phones). Google Maps, retrieved November 9, 2026.
- San Diego Botanic Garden. Wikipedia.
- Encinitas Union School District. Wikipedia.
- San Dieguito Union High School District. Wikipedia.
- Interstate 5 in California. Wikipedia.
- Encinitas station. Wikipedia.